The Fire and the Flood
by Tadpole24
Summary: He sways and he's not sure if it's the water rocking his ship or the force of the dark magic entering his body. He breathes deeps and opens his eyes, locking onto her green gaze and trying to show him what he can see for them if she will just let go of the darkness, if she can beat it. Captain Swan - based on recent set pics.


_**Just a little something from those set pics we all woke up to today. Not really spoilery because it's all speculation but, still, if you don't know what set pics I'm talking about and don't want to, steer clear ;)**_

 _ **Otherwise, enjoy!**_

…

The Fire and the Flood

…

He can feel her grips on his mind like talons of an eagle digging into the deepest corners of his thoughts. But it isn't unpleasant as he had expected, it's like dreaming, like floating on a sea of all that their life could be if he'd just accept the darkness within her. Her fingers tighten around his as she pulls him further into the fantasy, black leather and silver light, the force of magic shared between them as they become something other worldly, the Dark One consuming them both and creating history as a being which can never be destroyed.

The deck of the Jolly rocks beneath them and he can't remember how he arrived here; whether she had lured him from his sleep or if he dreamed his way above deck of his own accord. It's not the first time that she has visited him, that she has tried to pull him into the darkness with her. Sometimes she comes to him as Emma, asking him to not give up on her, kissing him and telling him that she is still alive within the darkness, that is hasn't consumed the parts of her that matter. But most of the time, it's the Dark One that he sees in her green eyes, the Dark One who smirks because it finally has the pirate where it's always wanted, the Dark One who wants nothing but power. Tonight she stands behind him and in front of him all at once, one hand trailing his bare chest, the other wrapped tightly around his own, as the Dark One.

"We could be immortal together," she whispers in his ear, filling his mind with images of their reign of darkness, "We could have it all."

He can feel himself leaning into her words, the night around them fading, the fantasy overtaking every part of his dreamlike state. They would be together forever and he feels almost happy, almost content to just let this fantasy consume him.

 _Almost._

He wonders if she knows what he does yet, wonders if she knows the reason they could be bonded as the Dark One is because of another kind of tether they have to one another. He wonders if she knows how true their love is.

He grips her hand just as tight and feels the magic she is offering him course through his veins. There were always pulses of light that flowed through him before but, now, he feels darkness swirl in his soul. His body wants to reject it, but he knows he needs to accept it for just a moment longer, just a minute more.

He sways again and this time he's not sure if it's the water rocking his ship or the force of the dark magic entering his body. He breathes deep and opens his eyes, locking onto her green gaze and trying to show him what he can see for them if she will just let go of the darkness, if she can beat it.

"Emma, please," he whispers, focussing every part of the magic coursing through him on light. Slowly, the images within their joint vision start to change. Her hair unfurls into soft waves, his black leather is replaced with red, hers replaced with white lace.

Before him, she frowns, eyes darting around his face in panic. "How?" she begins, "How are you doing that?"

He continues, the man he could be handing the woman she could be a bouquet. The woman in white throws her arms around his neck, pulling him close and the next part is something he doesn't have to create from nothing. He can remember the softness of her lips against his, remember the stirring of light magic at every touch, can almost feel the slow tilt of her head, the hum of her moans. He recreates it all, a light breeze on an otherwise calm day as his hand finds its way into her blonde locks, pulling her closer to him as he tries to show her what they could be, how they could live. He can feel Emma's darkness trying to break through the image he has created, but the light is too strong, the sun on his back too warm, the power in her kiss too light and, for one impossible moment, he believes he might get her back.

But then she tears her hand from his and the connection is broken, the two of them standing on the deck of his ship with the night fading into dawn around them as their shared illusion shatters into a million pieces around them leaving the both of them gasping for air.

She looks vulnerable and scared for a brief moment but the façade of the Dark One soon returns, covering her features in a hardened glaze. He reaches for her hand once more but she pulls it away, shaking her head at him as she still tries to figure out how he'd overthrown her magic.

He steps in closer to her, lowering his head so that their foreheads are almost meeting, "I think you know exactly how I was able to break in."

She only shakes her head at him again, leaning up to press a light kiss against his cheek. "Oh Killian," she says with pity, "I'm no longer capable of that kind of love."

He blinks and she is gone from before him, leaving him alone on the Jolly Roger, looking out across the water and waiting for the next time she visits him. He clings to the memory he had created within their shared dream, touching his lips as though she had truly just kissed him and celebrating the fact that she really hadn't. As long as some part of her still believes they are True Love, she won't kiss him, not willing to break the curse of the Dark One.

"I know that you are," he whispers to the empty air in front of him knowing that, somewhere out there, the Emma within the Dark One's clutches will hear him.

…

 _ **Thoughts?**_


End file.
